Zee Entertainment Enterprises' consolidated net profit rose 6.87% to Rs 413.23 crore on 7.4% rise in net sales to Rs 2122.01 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. The result was announced after market hours yesterday, 17 October 2019.

Revenue growth was driven by the strong performance of domestic broadcast and digital businesses.

Advertising revenue for the quarter was Rs 1224.7 crore, growth of 1.2% in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. For the quarter ended on 30 September 2019, domestic advertising revenue grew by 1.4% to Rs 1169 crore while the international advertising revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 55.7 crore.

Subscription revenue for the quarter rose by 19% to Rs. 723.5 crore in Q2 September 2019 over Q2 September 2018. For the quarter ended on 30 September 2019, domestic subscription revenue grew by 26.8% to Rs. 645.9 crore while the international subscription revenue for the quarter rose at Rs. 77.6 crore.

EBITDA for the quarter grew by 2.5% to Rs. 692.9 crore and EBITDA margin stood at 32.7%.

ZEE5 recorded a peak DAU (Daily Active User) base of 8.9 million in September. ZEEL's television network had an all-India viewership share of 18.4% during the quarter.

The company said it had a fixed deposit with a bank of Rs 200 crore. During the quarter ended 30 September 2019, the bank has prematurely, unilaterally adjusted the amount of the fixed deposit, which was maturing on 10 September 2019, against the dues of certain related parties. Subsequently, these related parties have reimbursed the amounts to the company, aggregating Rs 133.30 crore before 30 September 2019 (recorded as other financial liabilities) and Rs 66.70 crore after the quarter end. The company is in the process of investigating, seeking legal advice on the appropriate action to be taken as well as compliance with statutory and legal requirements.

In fiscal 2019, it had given an inter-corporate deposit (ICD) of Rs 150 crore. On seeing delays in recovering the amount, it assigned the ICD to certain related parties to secure payment of Rs 170 crore (including accrued interest). Since there are further delays in receiving payment from these parties during the September quarter, the said amount was listed as 'exceptional item' in its books, Zee said.

Meanwhile, the S&P BSE Sensex was up 79 points or 0.20% to 39131.48.

On the BSE, 5.54 lakh shares were traded in the counter so far compared with average daily volumes of 11.92 lakh shares in the past two weeks. The stock hit a high of Rs 262.8 and a low of Rs 247.95 so far during the day.

The stock hit a 52-week high of Rs 506.1 on 17 Dec 2018. The stock hit a 52-week low of Rs 203.7 on 07 Oct 2019.

Zee Entertainment Enterprises is one of India's leading media and entertainment companies. It is amongst the largest producers and aggregators of entertainment content in the worl d, with an extensive library housing over 250,000 hours of television content.